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Groups reach out to build bridges

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published May 10, 2006

It's easy to understand why people like to gather with those who share similar ethnic or religious backgrounds.

As the Tampa Bay area becomes more diverse, such organizations are rising in prominence or forming out of cultural desires.

The key to success, however, is for these groups to realize they have to build bridges with similar organizations that represent other ethnicities and groups.

Hispanic Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs is a new group embracing this philosophy. The organization, called HYPE, has a 12-member board and will hold a launch party at 6 p.m. Thursday at Channelside's Tinatapas restaurant.

The group's mission is to offer young Hispanic professionals career development and community outreach opportunities while forming strategic partnerships with other community groups.

"We intend to contribute and work together with other organizations to have an impact on the most critical needs of our community," said co-chairwoman Maria Elena Elisalde, who added that the group hopes to reduce high school dropout rates and promote college education.

"We welcome all of our supporters to our organization; you don't need to be Hispanic to be a part of HYPE."

Elisalde, an assistant vice president for SunTrust Banks, and Gil Sanchez, a lawyer with Maney & Gordon, came up with the idea after talking about how to get more young people involved in the community. A number of prominent Hispanics have flocked to organizational meetings, in part because they share the goal of wanting to create a lasting leadership impact.

Leading by example is always effective, and the group's members hope to serve as role models for young Hispanics. WTSP-Ch. 10 morning anchor Mario Diaz, another founding member, said the consensus is that this type of organization should have formed 20 years ago.

The group also believes it can strike a positive chord for its community amid some of the negative portrayals sprouting from the spotlight on immigration policy.

"The only way to change views is through education," Diaz said. "Every member has their own story, and they are all stories that can inspire.

"Views are already changing. We hope to change more with positives in the community."

Of course, Hispanic-centered organizations are not new to the community, but Elisalde said her group is needed to help bring together Hispanic organizations and Hispanics from varying backgrounds.

"Our vision is to integrate our members within the community," Elisalde said.

Hispanic is a broad term and encompasses people from different countries and backgrounds, but Diaz said there is more than enough common ground.

"Our morals, values and backgrounds come from the same fabric of life," Diaz said. "There are differences, but the similarities in culture and language is what allows us to transcend borders and bond."

I look forward to their bond extending to the entire community.

One group the Hispanic Young Professionals would do well to partner with is Emerge Tampa, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce's leadership program for people ages 21 to 35.

The group holds its third annual Emergence event today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Channelside Courtyard. The program will include presentations from Mayor Pam Iorio and County Commissioner Ken Hagan about what they see as the area's future.

The most important aspect of these gatherings and other ethnic organizations is a simple realization: No longer can we solely exist in ethnic silos. We have to find a willingness to break down the barriers and share our cultural differences.

We can't keep talking about diversity in abstract terms; we have to start living it in our daily lives. Now, more than ever, our lives are intricately laced.

If you limit your interaction with others, you limit yourself and you limit your opportunities.

That's all I'm saying.

Ernest Hooper can be reached at hooper@sptimes.com or 226-3406.

[Last modified May 10, 2006, 01:08:16]